As health care workers start treating more and more coronavirus patients, normally-busy restaurants are making sure they have something to eat while they battle the pandemic.
With the number of coronavirus patients health care workers are treating on the rise, some say they don't even have time to think about food. Restaurants, meanwhile, have seen a major drop in business due to social distancing guidelines.
Off Their Plate, a Boston-based organization, has partnered with local eateries with the goal of feeding front-line health care workers.
Tuesday was another busy day in the emergency room, and Dr. Maria Drazek was gowning up and gearing up for what was to come.
"It was intense, and it was terrifying for everybody involved," she said.
But in the middle of her emergency room shift at Boston Medical Center came an unexpected gift in the form of a hot meal from Off Their Plate.
"I would say it is not just a meal," Drazek said. "It sort of feels like a lifeline, if I'm going to be honest."
Off Their Plate cooked again Wednesday, delivering food from the kitchen at Pagu in Cambridge.
Across town, it was not your normal lunch rush, with Harvard Gardens donating more than 750 meals for health care workers at Massachusetts General Hospital.
With the number of coronavirus cases continuing to rise, making hospitals busier than ever, local restaurants are stepping up to ensure that at least these busy doctors and nurses have one less thing to worry about.
